SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco-based Lusora Inc.
launched today at the prestigious DEMO@15! conference with a suite of wireless
personal security products designed to protect the independent lifestyle
desired by so many older Americans. The company's Lusora Intelligent Sensory
Architecture (LISA) enables seniors to stay in constant contact with relatives
or care-providers via a Web interface that delivers data gathered from
Lusora's patent-pending wireless sensor devices. Lusora's first two
programmable, ZigBee-compliant sensor devices include a wearable pendant that
detects a person's fall and triggers an alert, and a tiny digital camera
embedded in a light switch to view activity in a room.
(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050214/NYM100 )
"Most technology companies seem to have a big blind spot when it comes to
addressing the senior market. Lusora is one of the few that's planning ahead
for the imminent explosion in the number of seniors and is developing products
that will give seniors one of the things they want most -- the ability to
continue living in their own homes," said Chris Shipley, executive producer of
DEMO, which is well known as the launching pad for the world's most promising
new technologies.
Lusora's LISA is a wireless personal security system that leverages the
latest technologies to safeguard homes and families. The system has three
main components: remote wireless sensor devices, a central hub that controls
the devices and a Web-based remote viewing platform from which to program the
devices and monitor the data they transmit. The company's technology solves a
number of the installation, power and reliability problems associated with
traditional wired security and monitoring systems by using the newly adopted
ZigBee wireless protocol. ZigBee supports applications where being wired is
impossible or impractical and where ultra low power and low cost is a
requirement.
Lusora's light-switch camera and personal alert pendant, along with other
LISA sensors placed throughout the home can be programmed individually through
the LISA Viewing Platform to monitor the unique habits of the person or people
living there. For example, if a bedroom door is not opened within a
particular timeframe that is normal for the person, an alert can automatically
be sent to the care-provider(s) via the Web interface, cellular messaging or
email.
Lusora's first product suite addresses one of the most pressing issues of
the century -- how to care for the unprecedented number of seniors in the
United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the first wave of baby
boomers will start turning 65 in 2011, and the number of seniors in the United
States will increase dramatically during the period 2010 to 2030. The older
population is projected to be twice as large as in 2000, growing from
35 million to 71.5 million, or 20 percent of the U.S. population.
"Lusora's technology is all about communication and community. We've done
our best to make the technology invisible by embedding it into everyday
devices that everyday people who don't have a lot of technical skill can
easily set up and depend upon to provide constant and reliable information
about their home and family members, particularly the seniors in their lives,"
said Dan Bauer, co-founder of Lusora.
The Lusora Intelligent Sensory Architecture (LISA) includes the following
three main components:
LISA Sensor Devices
-- The LISA Pendant is a wearable device that includes an emergency panic
alarm, tracking device and automatic fall sensor. The device has
sophisticated electronics for measuring sudden gravitational changes
such as those experienced in a fall. The device can be calibrated to
prevent false alarms.
-- The LISA Light-Switch Camera contains a miniature camera, passive
infrared detector and audio, all integrated into the light-switch
housing. This allows visual monitoring in any room without the need for
camera mountings or extra electrical wiring. The cameras can be
programmed to operate continuously, or turn on only when they receive
instructions from the LISA pendant.
-- The LISA Tag, which is approximately the size of a credit card,
monitors activity such as motion and temperature changes. Typically,
tags are placed on doors and windows throughout the home or residential
care unit, as well as key places in the house such as medicine cabinets
and refrigerators to measure for specific usage. The device has tiny
sensors that detect any movement from the tag itself, or infrared from
a human moving near the tag. Each tag uses a lithium battery and is
designed for 3-5 years usage
LISA Hub
The LISA Hub acts as the intelligent controller for all of the sensor
devices and communicates with the LISA viewing platform. The hub controls each
sensor device and allows for two-way communication of voice and data across
the local ZigBee wireless network, local WiFi network (if present) and the
encrypted Internet uplink. The hub allows for a choice of communications
possibilities from DSL/cable to WiFI or GPRS/paging options.
LISA Viewing Platform
The remote viewing platform is a Web-based interface that allows
caregivers to control, adjust and monitor the LISA hub and sensor devices.
Simple rules-based systems can quickly be configured to allow for automated
care procedures.